Mamunur Rashid, Naisuddin Yousuff, Kamaluddin Nilu, Faiz Zahir, Aminur Rahman Mukul, Ananta Heera, Kamaluddin Kabir, Golam Shafiq, Ishrat Nishat and SM Riad Tushar answered the audience's questions on their productions.

Directors, playwrights and designers of the plays Binodini, Metamorphosis, Che'r Cycle, Mangula and Shyama Prem participated in the session.

In the open discussion, the audience posed questions related to the script, the logic behind staging the play, directorial approach, application of the theatrical forms, set and light design.

The session got off the ground with Mamunur Rashid explaining the rationale for staging Che'r Cicle, a Bangla Theatre production, in Dhaka. In his words, "Che Guevara is a legendary character for his contribution to the revolution against the oppression and inequality in Latin America. He is the symbol of rebellion. So, we have presented him as an inspiration for society in Bangladesh."

One of the questions that cropped up in the course of the programme was why in the context of the anti-globalisation movement, Mamunur Rashid extended support for the 'internationalism concept' of Che Guevara. Mamunur Rashid had a ready response: "To fight against globalisation, we believe there should be a strong counter force. We believe Che's fight against oppression in many Latin American countries can emerge as an opposing force to."

Prangone Mor, a newly formed theatre troupe, stages Tagore's plays. The director of the play Shyama Prem, a Prangone Mor production, said, "We have a shortfall of quality artistes. This explains why instead of staging Tagore's original plays, we are staging adapted plays from Tagore."

The audience then raised several questions on Mangula, a Palakar production. The play depicts the chronological history of oppression on the Hajong community, an ethnic minority living in Bangladesh. Director Aminur Rahman Mukul said, "In the forthcoming shows we will modify the design as well as the presentation of the play."

Nasiruddin Yousuff, the director of Binodini, a Dhaka Theatre production, said, " We have staged the play to inform contemporary theatre activists about Binodini Dasi, the pioneer theatre activist."

Subsequently, Kamaluddin Nilu discussed his presentation style of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, a Centre for Asian Theatre production. Nilu said, "My target audience is the elite of the country. Their oppression on the working class in the name of 'professionalism' is transforming the human beings into insects. As this ruling class speaks through code mixing (use of two or more language simultaneously during conversation), our presentation of Metamorphosis is bilingual--Bangla and English"

"A director must have a clear idea of what he will and will not show during the presentation of a play. And it is the content of the play which is the criterion to select the theatrical forms during the presentation", added Nilu.

Theatrewala's new initiative is a step forward for the development of theatre movement in Bangladesh. More such programmes should be organised so that the dialogue between theatre activists and the audience continues.